Is it really just my head?
by Michael X124
Summary: They were everywhere, their shadowy figures slithering along the walls. people said he was insane, that this were just hallucinations. but they will see, they will all see...
1. Prologue

Hi. This is my first fanfiction story and I just wanted to try it out to see if I have any talent at all in this field. I'm hoping for comments and or\criticism.

Please enjoy the prologue and the 1st chapter ;)

This is Berk- *cough*cough*

This is Berk, a not so big town in the north of Maine in the USA or like a funnier description of the location says "it's twelve days north from Hopeless and a few degrees south from Freezing to Death". Doesn't this sound lovely? Oh, and "it's located on the Meridian of Misery".

My town. In one word, sturdy. We have shops, a library, a kindergarten, primary-, middle- and high school and we have a lake near us. The last one gives us a charming view of the sunsets.

The only problems are the pests. You see, most places have mice or mosquitoes. We have… dragons!

Ok. Kidding, only I have a problem with these oversized lizards. The others have just the usual stuff like these damn mosquitoes.

My name is Hiccup. Great name I know. But it could be worse (my cousin's name is Snotlout for crying out loud). Oh, who am I kidding I'm named after a bodily function, that's a bit depressing.

That man throwing casually axes at shields? That's Stoic 'the vast' Haddock. He's the chief as I like to call him. In reality he's the boss of a building-material-producing company and the mayor of this town. He is the number one battle axe thrower in the entire United States. It is said that he can rip out a tree with his bare hands, just like that.

Do I believe it? Yes I do.

"Hey, get the next one old friend"

"Here ya go Stoic, from yar son tha' one."

The meat-head over there, the one with a few missing limbs and also many missing teeth, that's Gobber the Belch. He's one of the many genius teachers on the school I'm attending. He teaches PE and technology there. An interesting fact is that he has a traditional forge in his house or more precisely in his garage. I knew him since I was little, well, littler.

Enough about these two my school is normal, for the most part. We have every important personality represented here.

The bully – the standard beefhead (probably with some daddy issues). This beefhead is sadly my cousin, he is also not the sharpest one. I swear, as much muscle mass as he has, as little is that brain of his. I might be exaggerating but his is metaphorically steaming the moment something requires a little amount of brain.

With the bully come also the hellpers. Just so that it's clear, the double 'l' is right there where it belongs. I think the name says enough to understand what they do. Fulfilling this role are the Thorston twins: Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Their reasons are mostly the fun and orgasm-like feelings (looking at the female twin you sure get the feeling).

Well, there is also the silent watcher. Most of the time, a nerd or a geek, who is rather the introverted type. It's not important what happens, he will just take it like it is even if it will have something to do with him. This particular guy is Fishlegs Ingerman, he is the complete opposite of Snotlout, he's good at everything related to books and generally theoretical stuff.

And then there is the hottest girl in the school, Astrid Hofferson, the best looking one, the best girl in any sport you throw at her and the best girl when it comes to any theoretical subject. And I am hopelessly in love with her, I don't believe I have any chance with her, no one has. There were even rumors about Astrid being lesbian, but they were stopped very fast, with a teeth shattering punch in some beauty queens face. There is also a story about her uncle being in a comatose state, everyone hasn't lost any teeth because of that so who knows, maybe it's true.

There are also other people but they will get a place in time. Until that happens I hope you can enjoy the beautiful sunset and the flying lizards in the air.

You might see some Nadders, pretty, spiky parrots in the dragon world. Lovely to the eye but find cover when it shoots it's quills around.

Groncles are like giant puppies, starved for attention and rocks. I'm sure one of them ate the rose quartz I got on some trip into the mountains with dad.

There is also the exotic looking Zippleback, two heads, spark gases and many, many explosions. He reminded me of these Zippo lighters. I hope the twins will never meet that one, not like they ever get a chance. I hope.

And there is also the so called Nightmare, for a good reason, when I was young he often looked at night in my room through the window. Have I mentioned already that he has that nasty habit of setting himself on fire? No? Well, now you know.

There is still one I have to see, the one I called Night Fury, I'd be too happy to see that one. Is probably really black if he flies only at night. But on one day I will see him, I know it.

…

Ooooh…

You can't see them, right. Sorry forgot that in my enthusiastic rush.

There are still a few things you might want to know about me. For example that I'm most of the time the victim of a certain beefhead I mentioned quite thoroughly before. Or that I can call the chief father or dad, because we're related like that. Or maybe that I'm calling someone by you because I have literally no one in my age group in this town I can call that without getting insulted or beaten up.

Oh, and you will never see a dragon, no one ever will. And that's all because of a rare neurological disorder called Lhermitte's peduncular hallucinosis, or short PH (please do not believe in everything Wikipedia tells you, I think I can distinguish my little daydreams and nightmares from reality).

To most people that just means as much as the sentence 'I am crazy' so think of me as you wish but you'll get to see one that really is crazy, so, be patient.

L zpzfpxkmyn mj iimvltuk le.


	2. Chapter 1

Life is a bitch. Why can't his cousin let him have one week free from those idiots. It's already enough with the creepy stories and his hallucinations, and he absolutely does not need a muscle head today.

The good thing is that Mr. Oswald plans to come in a few weeks. And that means he'll get to meet his children. So long he will be watching out for black dragons and dumb as bread bullies and try to make his eyes happy with the sunsets and other hallucinations. And work probably on that 'light sword' of his-

And someone grabbed his hoodie. Great. Just great. "c'mon Snot, would it kill you to give me one day without your visage?" It might have been not the most clever thing to say, but hey, does it feel good to throw such things into the bullies.

Some Terrible Terrors were flying over their heads. Hiccup ignored them, he really didn't need any comments about his mental state.

In the corners of his eyes he could already see two blond specks. One twin on the right, the other on the left, ready to hold him down. Let's see what they have planned for him today. From the looks of it it'll probably be the toilet flushing or something like that. The idiots are in a too good mood for doing a brutal beating.

"Really Useless? Can't you appreciate the presence of your beloved cousin? Are you that cold?"

Hiccup really wanted to throw up on that. But he will try to be as friendly as he can. "Sarcasm doesn't suit you, you know? Stay better with the arrogant, heavy muscled guy swearing Astrid his undying love. Believe me, this works better for you." For a second he really looked like dumping my head in the toilet would be a very good idea.

But this vanished as fast as it came. The reason was right behind my and the twins back. The most perfect girl in the world was walking through the corridor. At some point Snotloud kneeled before her talking about what a perfect match they would make and how he would beat up everyone that would as much as look funny at her.

And now he's showing his muscles. Four out of five people want to facepalm at that moment, hard. Instead of that, one punched him in the face, and knocked him out.

The twins had a hard time dragging him away. They all were just lucky that they were alone here right now, or that most teachers were already driving home. He knew, he stayed longer because of a head using the workshop and some chemicals for one of his projects. He didn't need to know why Astrid or there idiots were still here. For that matter, why was Fishlegs watching them?

He will have enough time to think about it at home. Right now he should vanish before he just embarrasses himself more and maybe get knocked out too.

And so he goes or limps his way, without a word, without looking back.

Ta'w eab ebop oi yml tgczui ka etbx qvv. Yua ykmpuhj imkx sysc jqmg uc spq.

Home was still, the only noise came from his sweet little delusions. They said it's a special form of this peduncular hallucinosis, that let's him see and hear these delusions. Apparently his premature birth left him with a form of lesion or something like that. It could be worse he decided at some point in his 15 year long life.

 _pad, clanc, pad, clanc_

He should look after the springs again. Without the boots everyone would see his one normal foot and that metallic makeshift hoof poking out of the other trouser leg. It's not like everybody in the school needed to know that he was short one limb.

His room was upstairs, but he should be able to find a lighter downstairs. Ah... there it is.

He took the work out spring out of his prosthetic. It's a bit shorter than it should be, but it's nothing a bit fire wouldn't bend right again. He ignited the lighter and held the spring into the outer part of it's flame. As if time started to turn backwards the spring returned to the form in which he once bought it.

Hiccup liked fire. It was pretty it warmed him up in the winters. And depending on what he would burn it would have all this pretty colors. His 'pets' likes to use it too, meaning that at some point he just had to start liking them.

Looks like dad made the fireplace ready before he went out for his fishing weekend with his friends. And this means a weekend were he candidate as much time as he wants for his mashines.

 _Ding dong_

The door bell announced someone's presence and he had no idea whose. It's 4pm, maybe a few minutes later, so who would be-

"Coming!" It rings again, he puts the springs into place, holding his prosthetic like they should. He stood up and went in the direction of the door. He listened shortly and changed his . He forgot to cover it. At least the shoes were not too far from him.

After covering up what was necessary he went to the door. "Sorry for the wa- wai- wa-. Hi Astrid." Of all people who could come here it had to be her. What did she even want here. God, did he even look halfway decent? Jus-

"Listen Haddock, I know you are good at chemistry and I know that we never talked much before. But I need your help with something here. Ok?"

He understood for the most part what she said. That's good, that meant that his brain came out of the shock

"Is- Isn't F-Fishlegs a better option? I-I mean he is good t-too. S-sorry, maybe I should invite you in. So, come in.

The kitchen was big, it had to be for a bear of a man such as his father. The creamy yellow wall seemed to glow in the rays of the setting sun. He could see a nadder looking through another window. Probably a girl. Her eye was fixated on Astrid but it didn't look like she would do anything.

"D-do you want something to drink? Tea, coffe, anything?" Yes! His brain worked again like it should. That is a big success right now.

"Tea should be fine, Thanks."

She had good marks in chemistry, if Hiccup remembered correctly. "So why that chemistry if you'll allow me to ask. For that matter why me, Fishleg's reputation is far better than mine and he's also good at chemistry or any other theory related subject." It is important to know with what he was working here. A lesson he learned early on because of... certain factors.

 _ohkldlktkzuwvjxxkmxlrkejehsonsiqlxeydpseenex..._

He heard a sipping sound. And then someone spoke. Oh, right. Someone's here besides him. "...'s only good in the theory stuff, what I need is to see it in real life. It's just easier for me to remember things when I've seen them" Yes that's true, he began to do it for the same reason after all. And because it's fascinating.

"I get it. I'll just need to get my hands on some chemicals first. I should still have enough for some basic things" In a metaphorical sense he saw his plans for Saturday and Sunday get ripped apard by Small Shadows. That's mostly true when he looks at it, now that she left the boll bag on the table. He could recognize a A4-sized notebook, a pencil case decorated with dozens of skull-pins (Ok, why not), and a camera.

"Just so you know, my reputation will destroy yours, just like you destroyed Snot today." Like really, he, Hiccup, the Useless, the Junkie, the Psycho, the Want-To-Be-Seen, the Creep...He will just make her a laughing stock. That still didn't help her completly unamused expression. "Did I say something wrong?"

She stood up, at least that scary look of hers vanished. It was replaced by seriousness.

The nadder just 'laughed'.

"You have a very low selfesteem," (Nothing new) "and I have a great idea how to change this." Why does he have such a bad feeling about this. Will it be like an exchange of deeds? "Why does it sound like an exchange of deeds?" It sounds a lot like that.

"Listen, I'll make you a deal. You help me with chemistry or something I don't understand. And in exchange you come with me. I'll teach you how to boxing."

"And it's an exchange of deeds." Hiccup just muttered at this point.

"Do we have a deal?" He heard the strong tone of finality in her voice. It looks like he had no other choice here at this moment. Oh well, he always wanted to try out some sport outside from school, who would have thought that it'll be boxing.

Astrid holds out her hand, she waits for his decision. "I just want to try it out. If I'm not build for it I'm quitting. Other than that, deal." He took her hand. He shook her hand.

When they looked out they saw just moon and stars. Something swished there, and there but that was invisible to everyone's but his eyes. The boy knew who was flying around there. The lizard was too dark to be mistaken for any other dragon.

He still looked at the sky, seeming to follow something with his eyes. "When do you want to come?" Astrid looked at him confused. "For the first lesson I mean." 'Oh' sound in 3... 2... 1...

"Oh… right. Tomorrow 10.00 in the morning." And there was here brave face again.

"Sounds good." He was still staring at the starry sky. "You should probably go home. The night comes with scary monster you know."

She just looked at him dumbfounded. "Look at this like a riddle, this is one hint, "She took the bool bag and they started to walk in the direction of the door, "the other is the nickname 'psycho'." They were standing in before the door. "And now have fun-"he opened the maroon colored, wooden door. "-understanding what that means."She walked out.

"See you tomorrow Astrid" He smiled and shut the door.

That was awkward to say the least. "Yeah, see ya" she mumbled out. Looks like she's going to go home now.

Behind the door Hiccup slid down along the door. He couldn't hold himself up for any longer, not for today. It was just too much to get himself back together and talk to frikin' Astrid Hofferson. Talk without stuttering every time he opened his mouth.

A white Night terror landed on his rather skinny thighs. Smidvarg was an interesting one. He was the leader of all the black night terrors here, he plays the role of the eye/brain of the giant dragon his flock forms to protect itself.

"Hey Smidvarg, looks like I got myself something like human friend. Might be interesting."

Shadows closed in around them many different rumbling noises could be heard through the whole house. Not this was OK, because this monsters he warned Astrid about were all his friends. "And have you found the things I need guys?" Another night terror left a few metal parts in his open palm. The boy smiled, the beasts knew what he wanted to do " Good. We can continue working from what I see."

He took the normal and the altered sepia brown sneakers off. Walked away to the garage.

 _Sl grxtl mlpt lrxtnvmyhxzavl, uye oi bzmp mlpf avdm kxew. Px'j zwm bqavvkmvm mlla xyqg whr'e iicumox. Lp rrvi jxmxpy, xyqg dgih iikfmk._


	3. Chapter 2

**So… hi. Hope that the few people that are interested will like the chapter.**

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to do that today. Astrid will always try to block out the thought of this one day, think it will fade from memory and she will continue the day as if it was just the next day of her life.

But she couldn't and she regretted wanting to do this stuff today. She should just contact him and reschedule the lesson.

Never. She is a Hofferson and they will always end the things they started or will die doing that (that's just metaphorical her mother said but some geniuses took it too literally). And that particular thing hasn't even started theoretically. She could just call or text or send Haddock to postpone the date or something.

Oh...

Now she's angry. This idiot hasn't given her any way of contacting him. And that means she'll have to go to his house and tell him in person that she has to reschedule the meeting for another day. She has better things to do than describing exploding vials, at least today. Damn you Haddock and the lack of your phone number.

And now that she's thinking about it, she'll might have to explain the reason why she would back out in the last minute like that. The moment she's coming back she will punch that sandbag into it's cartoon-like face and into oblivion. Yes, that sounds good. (Sandbag, just you wait in that cozy training room next to get bedroom.) Right now all she had to do is to get her emotional turmoil under control and get out of here to tell him the piece of information possibly without revealing the reason behind it.

At least now she had some control over herself so that she could concentrate on other things than... that.

There was a little semi-melodic voice in her head, saying she still has to go to bring over the message and ask for his dumb phone number. Maybe she'll get to hit something on her way. Softer trees like limes were on the longer way to Hiccups house if she remembers correctly. She would make a giant arch around the main and trunk roads, but it would be probably for the better, at least for today. Far away from people she absolutely doesn't want to be around. Be it strangers, friends or enemies. No one.

And still, she'll have to go out. Astrid groaned. Damn you Haddock, damn you...

The twenty-minutes walk through the town roads turned out to be a whole hour on the bypaths through the woods. She wasn't sure if she would be on time. Not that she really cared for that today.

The wind rustled as lightly as it could. It sounded like someone was walking a few feet behind her. It was interesting to listen to the noises made by the world surrounding her. Peoples' steps and nervous tapping mimicked rhythms of songs she listens to all to gladly and nature imitated the other organisms as if someone was stalking her.

Before she could really focus on the wind-fake-stalker she left the forest. The mayor's house was already in seeing range. It was never the biggest one in the town, not like the major. He probably is the biggest in the town at least when it comes to height. He's a great man, a really great man, Astrid understands why the people would choose him. Despite his very barbarian look and language, he knows when to hold his tongue.

He might appear as very roughish when he talks about some current topic, but he isn't, he's just direct. If there's something good he won't make it look like the very best and will work together with the town's people to make it even better. If there's something bad he won't sugarcoat it or hide it from the public eye. He will tell them and create a solution for the given problem.

Despite the roughish attitude, the big money he makes with his company, the crazy stories surrounding the Haddock family, he still appears to be a very normal human.

She stood in front of the door. She ringed the bell, but no one opened the door. The door bell sounded broken, in spite of the sunny and rather warm day the warped into something unrecognizable sound sent shivers down her spine. What is it with broken bells and creepy sounds?

Astrid hadn't ringed a second time, instead she tried the doorknob and the door opened. A creamy peach colored corridor greeted her. Stairs made it clear where to go upstairs.

"Hiccup?" No answer. Maybe he's upstairs she concluded eventually and so she went upstairs. There were only four doors. The first one and the only one on the left side revealed a room full of cartons. Probably not the one she was looking for. The second door, on the end of the short corridor turned out to be the right one.

There was a bed on the corner of the room and the rest is full with tech-...toys. If you can call a plastic arm that could be as well some sci-fi movie requisite a tech-toy. Everywhere were cables and plastic parts, the computer in the desk was in sleep mode.

Just a short glance, nothing more, just a glance to see if some of those crazy rumors are true. A Microsoft Word document was open and it was strange to say the least.

 _...Eoi Emlwxv, Dasiyner wehpbql axv. Ta are kexec zlv pqwg'x eyyjf bax ktyp. Jfwkfjwf wkmtdxh slv cusx t wshhfi. I ubk, xvwkxg ueyp zlrpwp. Aeglr'k emxg lpy wzzkx mlpu. Qfeb ebopsc jubntxtvr ze batx doi jfirxh hpxy tmk. Lsxllfi xxhtwl mxzwkx xsl rfuax hj eoizd amxtd. Alvk pxtv eoid, ipxg xslc wqme emvl fvuvz lxlsovp jnm mxzwkx me kijbqmx xshx..._

"The hell..." She murmured. Is that some kind of code or just some gibberish? Probably the former one. But which code, that was beyond her. Maybe taking it to Fishlegs would help.

She took a picture of the computer screen. Hiccup wouldn't be too angry, she hopes. Picture taken, she left the room. If he was upstairs, he would be already standing right behind her like in a typical 'what are you doing in my room' scene. The ground floor is still free from any Haddock normally living here.

The kitchen hadn't changed in any aspect since yesterday, except for the dirty dishes in the sink and that vial of metallic black... something.

Not too far away was a small cylinder formed piece of metal. Maybe a magnet, the problem of ripping it away from the knife that it rolled against proved her assumption to be right.

But that did not answer the new question: why is the black liquid now a black sea urchin and why did it want to the magnet-

Something creaked, a door opened somewhere and the morning sun flooded the peach corridor for a few seconds before the door closed. There were steps and a rather familiar voice.

"-com'on, come back Sharpsh-" something clanked loudly. A metal bowl fell as if hit by something. It hit the tiled floor with a loud, metallic, unpleasant noise. And that lead to her stumbling into the table in a rather painful fashion.

A loud groan left her lips. Steps were getting near her location. She has to get away, panic was already nagging at her nerves when the steps were just seconds away from teaching their destination.

"Sharpsh-" He was right behind the corner. He stepped out, right into the middle of the kitchen entrance. "- shit. Astrid? What the hell are you doing in my house?"

The whole panic that she felt a moment ago morphed into something comparable with annoyance but worse.

"What I am doing? It's not my fault you are too dumb to close the door properly!" As fast as the feeling it vanished. She just murmured a quiet "Sorry" before she stood up.

Breath in, breath out and calm your nerves was all she thought for the moment, before she started explaining. "I just wanted to reschedule the lessons. Something... just came up. I... I can't do it today, so I wanted to get at least your phone number"

The way he looked at her hold her that he wanted to know more. She ignored the stare as good as she could. The stare remained unchanged. "Look, I'll just take the number and leave you and... whoever you were talking to alone. Ok?"

Somehow it all got really awkward in a matter of seconds. "H-how much d-did you hear?" He somehow got himself to talk. It looks like it was now his time to slowly slip into a panicked state. "I-it's - I don't know w-hat you are t-talking abou-" She stops him before the boy turns into a rambling mess and he fell silent before murmuring "I'm not crazy..."

Astrid heard some rumors about the son of the major being crazy and having some psychic disorder and things like that. But hearing him talk to thin air as if there was someone leaves a completely different taste on her tongue. Something like that makes him hard to predict.

These two rumors belonged only to the top of the crazed iceberg made of all the crazy stories surrounding Berk. They can go as far as people thought of them. A few told about a gigantic cave system described often as looking like an ant-hill when you're looking from the inside. It would fit, Berk is located on a hill.

Astrid likes to think that there were especially many surrounding the school. The ghost stories were always quite interesting in her opinion, even more when they had the video recordings as evidence.

There were stories that surrounded Hiccup were just as creepy. One of them told about the moving objects in his nearby environment and another talked about some satanic rituals.

The aluminum bowl turned suddenly into something a bit scarier. But now was not the time for that. "It's OK, I-I believe you. Just... Just give me the phone number and then you can do whatever you want." She felt like talking to a child (at least one that was younger than her).

Hiccup just vanished behind the door. She heard the sound of climbing the stairways, then a moment of nothing, and then the sound of going down the stairs. He came back into the kitchen a thin cuboid in his hand. A mobile phone she realized quickly. "So yeah -" he said "my phone number is..."

Numbers exchanged, she left the Haddock residence. The wind made again that stepping sound. Just a few hours at home, kicking and hitting the sandbag into oblivion, and then she'll go to the hospital to say Hi.

No, her mind won't wander off into that part of her brain. Not yet at least.

The house was already in front of her when she got herself out of her thoughts. Key into the key hole and a 360° turn clockwise to open the door. It didn't move. Did she forget to close the door?

No way. Astrid tried again. This time it turned like it should. The lock jammed for some reason. The door is open, so the reason is unimportant now.

She took off the shoes and went straight to her room. Clothes are in the wardrobe the beige colored wood looked like always, covered in pictures of her family. The younger brother, mom and dad, grandparents, some friends, her aunt and uncle... Everyone was there, most of them alive too, from a certain point of view. She took what's necessary and went the room next to her's.

She changed clothes and took the shiny red boxing gloves to put them on and start the 'fight'. The cartoony face was ready with every synthetic fiber it had and the beautiful violence began. It lasted as long as her muscles held out.

Astrid was strong, stronger than most girls and some boys. She likes to think it was all thanks to her family, mostly to uncle Finn. He trained her and the sport is still something that connects them. He was the one who teaches her how to box, who have her the confidence she had today. He's the best uncle she could have-

She stopped. Everything was blurry, it was like seeing underwater. Something slid down her cheek, something wet. God, she was crying, and she hated it.

Thirty minutes are left. She should get ready to meet uncle Finn. Today is his birthday after all. Her parents should be at home by that time and should also be ready to go.

A shower and changing clothes later she could be considered ready. The boll bag was packed, the little luminescent salamander figure was decorated with a little bow and went like a few other things into the bag. She didn't understand what he sees in these toxic urodela. Uncle Finn told her that they are the cutest things in the world (besides her). She didn't see that.

There was a noise of an unlocking door, that must be her parents. She got out of the bedroom and walked to the door. Her parents were already here the sad little smiles telling her to get into the car.

It is a short ride, like always. The hospital half an hour away is colored the creamy yellow, also like always. The same question like all the times they had visited, the same room, the same salamanders that stood on the plastic shelf in the same way until once a year the next one comes. The same bed, the same window, the same man lying motionlessly for the long time he was here.

The only thing that changed were the flowers on the shelf and the length of his hair.

They sat next to the bed of the comatose patient. She wanted to cry.

"Hey uncle Finn..."

 **Hope you enjoyed it**


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